Sam Smith has announced that he will sing the theme to the forthcoming James Bond film, Spectre. The Grammy and Brit award-winning singer followed his cryptic Instagram hint on 6 September with confirmation of his new appointment.

The track is entitled Writing’s on the Wall, and was co-written with Smith’s long-time collaborator Jimmy Napes, who worked with the singer on hits such as Stay With Me and Naughty Boy’s La La La.

“This is one of the highlights of my career. I am honoured to finally announce that I will be singing the next Bond theme song,” Smith posted on Instagram.

“I am so excited to be a part of this iconic British legacy and join an incredible lineup of some of my biggest musical inspirations. I hope you all enjoy the song as much as I enjoyed making it.”

Smith sparked rumours of his Bond affiliation on 6 September, with the 23-year-old sharing an image of a ring on his finger, featuring the symbol of an octopus with blade-like tentacles, which is similar to that of the fictional terrorist organisation featured in the 007 narrative. The hint was at odds with Smith’s previous comments surrounding the topic: last week the singer told Jo Whiley he was “definitely not” working on the project.

Smith follows the likes of Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, Duran Duran, Tina Turner, Garbage, Adele, Jack White and Alicia Keys in his new role within the Bond franchise. He spoke about being approached by producer Barbara Broccoli and director Sam Mendes on Radio 1 on 7 September.

“I’m so relieved to actually talk about this; this has been top-secret mission of my own,” he told Nick Grimshaw.

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“I got called into the office with Barbara Broccoli and Sam Mendes and they gave me the script. I read the script. They said, ‘Have a go at the song.’”

Smith also said that it was the quickest he had ever written a song, penning the track in just 20 minutes back in January.

Writing’s on the Wall can be pre-ordered from midnight on 7 September. It is officially released on 25 September.